BillRayDrums.com-Grammy Award Winning Drums

Hi. Glad you found this small bracket of my world on the internet. It's mostly about drums but there's also the more personal side of me that comes out here. This site doubles as my blog of sorts. Maybe I'll make you laugh, maybe I'll piss you off. It's all good! Just keep reading!

So You're probably wondering "Who is this guy"? Well, I'ma tell you what I'm all about in a very short narrative.

I've played drums as far back as memory would allow. There's pics of me playing when I was 1 year old. My first kit was a 1964 Ludwig Joe Morello model (13", 16", 22" 14 snare) which I still have.

My longtime friend Captain John Alvarez uses some of Cirque du Soul's music in his videos, which focus on fishing.

The Best of The Kings of Rhythm Featuring Earl Thomas from 2008 slideshow by Alaskancat. A short 44 second presentation of 17 images. 

This was the crowning moment of my entire drumming career. The only thing that has ever affected me this much in my life was seeing my child be born. To play on a stage that ALL of the musical greats have graced at some point in time was an experience that cannot easily be put into words. After the show, I cried my eyes out in front of everyone there. Even at the moment of this writing I am starting to tear up a bit at the memory. 

Without further adieu, here is the solo:

I have been informed that this solo is featured in Morgan Freeman's series "Sound Revolution",airing on Smithsonian channel this month, and forever to be bought/ripped/pirated on the DVD. Yay! It's during the segment on Ike Turner. I guess this socks away my place in musical history and for me that's heavy. Check it out when you can!

And oh yeah, I miss Ike terribly. He was really good to me in alot of ways. Look what he left me with. That says it all. 

Decrepit Birth- MySpace Page 

KC Howard was a student of mine back in 1999 or so. He would come over to my home studio and study with me. I showed him rudiments, reading, flow, just basic stuff. Needless to say, he is making quite an impact on the "Death Metal" scene with his frenetic, energetic style. I have been playing drums for close to 40 years now and I have no idea how he maintains such a recoil to play that kind of extreme music. 

Needless to say, I am quite proud of him and especially honored that he actually takes the time to recognize me as someone significant to his career. He was raised right; I can only hope my son is as forthright and upstanding.

Thanks, KC for being a part of my musical career and I cannot express enough gratitude.